Arsenal manager Unai Emery has reacted to claims that France international Alexandre Lacazette is unhappy over playing time at the club.

This is coming after he was substituted shortly after scoring the only goal in the 1-0 Europa League win against Italian Serie A outfit Napoli for Alex Iwobi in the 70th minute.

This has raised speculations that the player is unhappy, especially after he spoke to the press by claiming that he would have been happier if he had more time in the game just like any player, stressing that it is a thing of joy to always be on the pitch.

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However, Unai Emery cited the case of legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech who only plays in the Europa League, noting that other players must learn from him.

He noted that every player wants to be on the pitch for 90 minutes but that will not be possible because of the need for the manager to make use of the available time to achieve a lot.

The Spanish boss argued that some situation will require that he have two strikers on the pitch but that cannot happen all the time because of the need to get the best out of every moment.

Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi has made a special claim of performing better than his uncle and former Nigerian international Jay-Jay Okocha ahead of the country’s bid to storm Egypt for the AFCON title.

Alex Iwobi will be having his debut AFCON competition in Egypt later in June and that has gotten him excited as he seems to have something related to Okocha other than blood.

It would be recalled that the former Bolton midfielder won his maiden tournament with Nigerian in 1994 when the country won their second AFCON title by defeating Zambia in the Tunisia final.

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Alex Iwobi is, therefore, seeking to win the Super Eagles’ fourth AFCON title and his first in his debut year as he noted that he has seen the highlight of the 1994 Super Eagles and will hope he is able to make his own record.

The 22-year-old has been impressing with the Arsenal team and he is a major part of the Unai Emery team and he would be hoping to replicate the performance for the national team when the African competition is opened.

Meanwhile, Iwobi represented England at the junior level in the U16, U17 and U18 before agreeing to represent his father’s home country.

North London outfit Arsenal boss Unai Emery has spoken on taking over from former manager Arsene Wenger, about a year after the French boss announced his decision to quit.

Arsene Wenger had a 22 years reign at the Emirates Stadium and was reportedly compelled to draw the curtain which he did on 20th April in 2018.

In his departing speech, he urged the supporters and his successor to ensure that the values of the club are kept as it has been the bedrock of the successes they have been able to achieve over the past years.

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However, manager Unai Emery has now affirmed those words as he claims to be doing the job that was done by his predecessor, noting that the achievements and progress of the team come with a level of progress.

Unai Emery stressed that he has big respect for manager Arsene Wenger and the good job he did at the club before leaving.

However, the former PSG boss says he would be continuing in the progress and will hope to achieve big success at the North London outfit in his reign.

Meanwhile, Unai Emery said he is happy with his first season as he earned respect from the fans and also have a hope of landing a trophy.

The race for the top-four finish in the Premier League table is currently between Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham and the Red Devils feel some of the teams have got an edge.

The Red Devils are currently a sixth place with two points behind fourth-placed Arsenal and fifth-placed Chelsea which means they will have to do more to be able to catch up.

What is more disturbing for the Red Devils is the fact that they will have to travel to the Goodison Park to face Everton before they will line up for the clash against Man City and Chelsea.

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Solskjaer stated that his team are not in a better position to qualify for the Champions League next season despite having their rivals Tottenham, Arsenal, and Chelsea still in European tournaments.

He noted that he would have loved his team to also play in the semi-finals, adding that it is the wish of every player to want to compete and win titles.

However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has stated that the attention of his team is to see through the next three fixtures in the Premier League because the games will define their season before they later travel to Huddersfield and then host Cardiff City to end their season.

Arsenal have been able to progress to the semi-finals of the Europa League after seeing past Italian Serie A outfit Napoli and will now face Spanish La Liga side Valencia in coming weeks.

Valencia boss Marcelino has claimed that his side are at a better advantage than the North London outfit because they will not be under pressure like the English Premier League side.

The Valencia boss noted that the Gunners team are favourites ahead of the semi-final clash and they will be under pressure to prove that when they meet.

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He added that with the fight for a top-four finish in the Premier League looking tough, the Gunners team will be desperate to deliver victory and they could be hunted by that as he hopes his team are able to deliver victory in the game.

However, there is no doubt that the Gunners team are favourites for the Europa League title and winning Valencia in the semi-final will give a big hope to the Arsenal fans, knowing that manager Unai Emery has got a history with the competition- winning it three times with Sevilla.

Meanwhile, the Gunners team will have their attention on the English Premier League as well so as not to take the risk.

Wales international Aaron Ramsey sustained an injury in Arsenal’s Europa League clash against Italian Serie A outfit Napoli on Thursday night and the report from the boss Unai Emery seems unpleasing to the ear.

The Gunners were able to see past the Italian side with a 1-0 win at Naples, all thanks to a free-kick goal by French striker Alexandre Lacazette but they have their loss to count at the end of the game with Ramsey’s injury. He was forced out in the first half and replaced by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Speaking after the game, Unai Emery confirmed that the Wales international suffered a muscular injury which could take weeks before total healing as he stressed that the fans may never see Aaron Ramsey in an Arsenal jersey again.

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The Spanish boss made such claim knowing that Aaron Ramsey has already been announced to have agreed on a deal with Italian Serie A outfit Juventus on a four-year deal after failing to agree on a contract extension with the North London side.

There is no doubt that Aaron Ramsey would be missed as he has established himself as one of the best midfielders the Gunners team can boast of.

The summer transfer window is fast approaching and the North London outfit Arsenal boss is looking to add more strength to his team ahead of the coming season.

It has been suggested that the Spanish boss will be adding more strength to all departments including the attack and has identified Fortuna Dusseldorf forward Benito Raman as a good addition.

It has been noted that the Unai Emery team have got the third-best attack in the English Premier League with 66 goals in 33 games as they bid to secure a top-four finish but that will not stop them from doing more with additions.

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The Gunners have therefore learned that Benito Raman will cost £13 million which is perceived to be affordable knowing the limited £40 million budget that is reported to be on the way of the Spanish boss.

With 10 goals so far in 27 appearances in the German Bundesliga outfit, Benito Raman has caught the attention of the former PSG boss who is seeking to bring him in to consolidate Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the attack.

However, the Spanish boss has been told that he would have an improved £70 million transfer kitty should he land a Champions League qualification.

The start of the season made projected the North London outfit Arsenal as a weak side defensively as they conceded the highest number of goals amongst the top six teams.

All of these seem to have changed rapidly as the Gunners team have been transformed to recording six clean sheets in the last seven games across all competi0tons.

Former Man United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has attributed the resurgence to the perfect partnership between Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis Papa.

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With this feat, the North London outfit have now stepped up in their race for a top-four finish while they have been able to see past Italian Serie A outfit Napoli for a semi-final clash against Spanish La Liga outfit Valencia in May.

The former Red Devils player noted that the Gunners have always looked different with Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis Papa at the defence while the mix of Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka has paid the Spanish boss.

He stressed that manager Unai Emery has to be given the credit because he has been able to set up the team correctly while noting that the team is now in their peak at the right time to help them with a Champions League qualification and the Europa League title win.

Arsenal have been able to progress to the semi-final of the Europa League after defeating Italian Serie A outfit Napoli in a 3-0 aggregate but there is a need to turn attention to the English Premier League because of the need to seal a top-four finish.

The Gunners team have missed out of the Champions League for the last two years and manager Unai Emery who took charge of the club in the last summer has been given the mandate to return the club back.

However, as the Gunners team return for an important clash against Crystal Palace on Sunday, the Spanish boss has hinted that there could be a squad rotation after stressing the need so as to get the players fresh and to get a balance between the domestic league and the Europa League.

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The former PSG boss noted that a number of players are now injured while some are tired and there is a need for new energy because of the expectation that the Crystal Palace game would be a tough one for his side.

Unai Emery added that he will begin work with some players who did not feature in the game so as to get the team set for the Crystal Palace clash.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery has been hinted that he could have an increase in the transfer budget that was initially promised him if he is able to ensure qualification to the Champions League in the coming season.

The Gunners boss was initially told he would have £40 million to engage in the summer transfer window as the club have got limited funds.

But with the hope of qualification, there would be a need to boost the squad to be able to face the challenge ahead for European competition and the Spanish boss has been told he would now have £70 million to spend.

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The North London outfit are currently in the race for a top-four finish against Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham but there are hopes that they can scale through if all remaining games until the end of the season can be won.

Arsenal are lucky to have all opponents outside of the top six teams which makes it easier.

However, there are expectations that they will be without Wales international midfielder Aaron Ramsey in the coming season because he has already agreed on a deal with Italian Serie A Champions Juventus while it is unsure if England international Danny Welbeck would be trusted to remain at the club owing to the injury he sustained.